Roll Along: Volume II
by Simplexious
Summary: Three months have passed since the fall of the GG's and while the few of them that remain struggle just to survive, Pockets has been living a life of leisure with Candy. For once, there is some illusion of peace on the streets, but it is short-lived.
1. Jet Set Radio

_Chapter 0 – Jet Set Radio_

_Tokyo used to be free, but it seems like nowadays nobody remembers that… Whether it's because they choose not to, in order to make the world they live in now seem more bearable, or whether it's because they've simply forgotten, I can't tell you. But, I remember. I remember what this city used to be like and somebody's gotta remind the people it wasn't always like this! I guess it's up to ol' DJ Professor K to refresh y'all memory._

_Now this may sound like ancient history, but I'm tellin' you! There was a time before Gouji. I'm sure that, if nothin' else, you remember how alive Tokyo used to be, how the whole city used to pulse with rhythm and glow! It was beautiful enough to make a grown man cry. But that all changed with Rokkaku._

_When Gouji and his gang stepped on the scene, they immediately started throwin' money and tellin' people what to do. And the government bowed down to that power-hungry punk. Shameful. Then he bought out the police force, renamin' them the Rokkaku Police, and ordered them to enforce his bullshit laws and oppressive regulations. Why? Because he wanted to show everyone he was the _big _man._

_The Rokkaku Group shut down just about every major corporation in Tokyo except those ones willing to abide by their new rules. He put Tokyo's flourishing entertainment industry in a choke-hold. And with that, Gouji started his anti-cultural campaign, transforming a neon-lit city into a mass of concrete, steel, and glass. It didn't take long for whispers of insurrection to begin to pass…_

_Soon enough, an underground culture was born in the bowels of the city, otherwise known as the streets, occupied by a people that yearned for freedom and glorified rebellion. And at the head of this revolution was none other than the rudies. Oh, "who are the rudies," you ask? A bunch of roller-skatin' rebels with a passion for graffiti. _

_Misguided as they are, the rudies are the true heroes of Tokyo. Their paint brought the soul of Tokyo back to the streets and their efforts eventually lead to the downfall of Gouji… In the end, perhaps even he was not big enough…_

_Now, there are many rumors surrounding Gouji's little disappearing act. Some say it was the GG's who put an end to his rampage. Others say he was transformed into a hideous monster and swallowed whole by his own greed. Heh heh heh… ol' Professor K knows the truth and all I'll say is this: Tokyo ain't free yet. Let the paint that stains the walls remind you of your struggle for freedom and set ablaze that burning desire within us all…_

…_Damn. How long have I been talkin'! Ha ha ha ha ha! I'm sure y'all ain't interested in hearin' me ramble all day. You wanna hear some music, right!_


	2. Overcast

_Chapter 1 - Overcast_

Yoyo slammed his fingers on the power button of Combo's old boombox right after DJ Professor K finished his broadcast. Yeah, Gouji was gone, but still he had more problems now than ever before. He sat there alone, in the middle of the garage floor, staring up into the black sky. The city lights made it hard to see any stars, save for the few bright enough to outshine the ambient illumination, but he still found some comfort in trying to pick out the very few constellations he knew. He figured he'd be dead tired after coming back from the job he was forced to hold in order to feed himself, Rhyth, and Gum who was still recovering from a serious leg injury. Instead he was wide awake, cursing his insomnia.

Three months ago, the rest of his former gang, The GG's, were all taken hostage by another gang and never heard from since, leaving the three of them to cope. Yoyo had suspicions that they were turned in to the police. It made sense. That would explain why they were never seen again. The only other possibility was that they were all dead, and Yoyo refused to think about that. But what difference would it make? Some of them were guilty of crimes that could put them in prison for life, and the rest most likely wouldn't be eligible for parole for at least another 25 years or so.

In a spur of the moment decision, he decided to go check on Gum to distract himself from his own thoughts. He made his way up the stairs to the small second floor of the garage and found the girl lying on the red sofa, sound asleep. In the matching red sofa next to her, Rhyth was sleeping also. Yoyo let her take the couch and he usually slept downstairs next to the little dog Pots. It wasn't comfortable, but at least the summer nights weren't so cold. He didn't have to wear his jacket to sleep on these kinds of nights.

He noticed the television that Corn had rigged to work on batteries was still running and he took this chance to turn it off. The silence that ensued was awkward. The change in environment also made Gum stir. Eventually she turned over and saw the green haired boy standing there.

Yoyo apologized. "I'm sorry, yo. I ain't mean to wake you up."

"It's fine," Gum said flipping onto her back. "I wasn't asleep anyway. Why aren't you asleep yet? Don't you have work in the morning?"

"Can't sleep, yo..." He didn't care to explain. "So how's your leg feel?"

"It's fine, Yoyo. You don't have to keep asking." She was able to walk at this point in her recovery but she still wasn't able to skate, which bothered her worse than any of the physical pain she went through. "You just worry about Rhyth. She's not doing so well."

"Yeah I know." Yoyo slumped down to the floor with his back against the red sofa, deep in thought. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. This is how he sat for next couple of minutes. "What should I do?" He asked softly, unsure if Gum was still awake or not.

"Take her out to dinner," Gum suggested.

Yoyo blushed immediately. "I don't know… Now really isn't a good time."

"It doesn't have to be a date. Just go out somewhere together. Try to take her mind off of our situation."

Yoyo considered it for a minute while a cool breeze blew by, chilling the both of them. "What about you? You can't stay here by yourself, yo."

"I _have to_ stay here. I can't go. I'll be fine here, though… You should try to enjoy yourself, too."

The more he thought about it, the more it started to sound like a good idea. After all it had been a long time since he had a decent meal. He may not have graduated from high school but he knew that pizza, barbecque potato chips, and soda wasn't exactly a balanced diet. Gum was full of good advice when she wasn't barking at the fool-hardy younger rudie. They shared the relationship of siblings, always quick to bicker but ready to console each other whenever the need arised.

Without another word, Yoyo got up and headed back downstairs, leaving Gum to shuffle around alone until she finally fell asleep.

It rained heavily the next day as Yoyo and Rhyth were returning from the restaurant where they spent the afternoon. Neither of them wore skates in order to avoid drawing attention, so they walked instead. Even still they stood out among the crowd, being the only ones without any umbrella. There had been heavy overcast the past few days so the rain came as no surprise. Everyone with somewhere to be brought an umbrella today, except the two of them, that is.

They were thoroughly soaked. Yoyo brought no jacket, only his teal hoodie. Rhyth had put a blue jacket on over her dress but she was still hugging herself to stay warm as she walked. Her blue hair was drenched with rain water and laid matted down, making her appear younger than she already was.

"Sorry 'bout the rain, yo. I didn't know it was gonna rain today." Yoyo apologized.

"No it's okay. I had fun," Rhyth said smiling at him through a web of wet hair. Yoyo smirked, though it was only a shadow of his trademark grin, leaving Rhyth concerned. Earlier that day he was so alive, his old self. She remembered a lengthy conversation with him at the restaurant in which he erratically changed subjects, as he often did. One minute they were talking about cars and the next they were exchanging stories about their childhood. He even stopped to pet some random lady's dog on the way there. Maybe the exhaustion finally caught up with him, Rhyth thought. He did mention that he got no sleep the night before.

Looking up at the sky, she remembered how he loved the rain and watching the clouds. Though this seemed like a misplaced thought at the time, she couldn't help reliving the memories of those days when she would lay next to him and watch the clouds because he insisted in doing so.

It had been silent for a while when Yoyo said, "Gum was, uh, worried about you."

"Why?"

"... And I was too," He continued.

Rhyth frowned conspicuously at the thought that she might be the source of his anguish. "Why?" She asked again, softer this time.

"I don't know, I guess I was wrong... to worry about you." He said.

Yoyo stared at the ground as he walked now which made Rhyth feel even more anxious. She found that recently, he would often slip into these _episodes_ where he became distant and wouldn't speak much. She assumed it must've been some kind of post-traumatic stress following the capture of the rest of the gang. Their absence didn't hit Rhyth as hard, because she stayed pretty much isolated from the rest the gang, but the GG's were Yoyo's closest friends.

Determined to bring him out of his slump, Rhyth approached Yoyo from behind and wrapped her arms around him in a cold, wet embrace, saying to him, "You don't have to worry about me."

Yoyo couldn't help but worry about her. She was the youngest of the remaining GG's and as the only man left, he felt responsible for both her and Gum. But that wasn't the main reason he worried.

"I love you," He announced flatly. His voice carried no emotion. It sounded almost as if he was only trying to remind himself, but Rhyth could read him well enough to know that he was sincere. She squeezed him tighter until she forced a laugh out of him.

"I know, Tai," was her cheerful response.

She was the only one who called him "Taisuke". If it wasn't for her, he probably would've forgotten his own name by this point, so every once in a while, he took the liberty of reminding "Rika" of her real name as well.

Rhyth hopped up on Yoyo's back and he carried her piggyback style. "How far are we from the Garage?" She asked.

"We're right around the corner... from Dogenzaka... I think...?" said a rejuvenated Yoyo, too numbed by the cold to feel the weight of the girl on his back. "Actually, we might be lost..."

Rhyth could only giggle.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's <strong>_**Note: **I was originally going to post this on Sunday but I figured I'd put it up a little early since chapter 0 isn't much to look at. This is the revised version of chapter 1 from Roll Along Remix which was rewritten and retitled to what it is now. Also I will provide a little backstory after some chapters just to recap what happened in the first volume along with some entirely new information.

Approximately three months ago, the GG's lost a battle with another gang called the Hell Blazers which ended up with most of the GG's being captured. Yoyo and Rhyth happened to not be at the garage at the time of the invasion and Gum was left behind after the battle with a broken leg. The three of them have no idea where the rest of the gang have been taken and they have long since given up on finding them. Their only focus now is to just survive.


	3. Past, Present

_Chapter 2 – Past, Present_

Pockets pulled open the sliding glass door and entered the apartment from the balcony, making sure to remove his skates by the door. The penthouse apartment couldn't be bothered way up on the top floor of the building. Other than distant sounds of the cars below and the low whistle of the winds that seemed to always be present at higher altitudes, the place was almost completely silent. It was so peaceful inside… hardly a place you'd expect to find a rudie living, which is why Candy had gotten away with doing so for so long.

The elevator was the only way to reach the top floor, other than the fire escape on the balcony, and that elevator was out of service and had been for months. The landlord was either too busy or too lazy to fix the elevator, so in his absence, Candy kept the place clean and occupied in exchange for free electricity, running water, and a place to stay. It was the perfect hideout.

Entering through the balcony, you would find the kitchen and dining area to the left, the living room to the right, and directly across would be the door leading down the hall to the now useless elevator. Past the dining room was a hallway that led to Candy and Pockets' rooms, each with their own bathroom, and the laundry room where they could wash their clothes themselves. It was much more than a runaway could ever ask for. Pockets often wondered how Candy stumbled upon such a place.

From where he was standing, Pockets could see two heads sitting above the back of the couch in the living room. That was strange. Candy never brought visitors up to the apartment. And they weren't even speaking, just sitting there, staring at something, but what? The television was off.

It seemed that, for some reason, they hadn't noticed him yet. Not wanting to surprise them, he introduced himself. "Hey," he called from the door, causing the two girls to turn around.

"Pockets, there's someone you have to meet," Candy said, obviously referring to the girl sitting next to her. They both stood and Candy waved for him to come over and join them, so he took a spot next to Candy. "This is my friend Karma."

"Hey," Pockets greeted the girl.

"Hi," Karma replied with a wave and a smile that seemed vaguely familiar.

Upon looking her in the face, Pockets immediately noticed two things: the first was the abundance of wavy, coral-colored hair draping from her head; the second thing he noticed was that she was remarkably short, almost half a foot or so shorter than himself.

"Candy told me everything," Karma immediately informed Pockets, much to his confusion.

"Everything about what?" He asked.

"About the whole memory thing."

"Oh…"

"Sit down so we can talk," Candy requested as she took the end cushion on the couch, leaving Pockets in the middle.

"Okay, I don't understand what's going on," Pockets announced as he reclined in his seat.

"I brought Karma here because she wanted to see you again," Candy explained.

Karma added, "It's been, like, a year since we last talked, Souya."

Pockets arched an eyebrow. "Souya?"

"Oh, sorry. Candy just told me you don't go by your real name anymore but I haven't gotten used to your nickname, yet."

"Well, I didn't _know_ my real name until now."

"Oh, so you really don't remember _anything_?" Karma asked, her head tilted to one side making those curly locks of hers sway hypnotically. Pockets only nodded in response to her question. "That's sort of hard to believe. You don't remember high school?"

"I can't remember anything," Pockets clarified for her.

"Do you at least remember me?"

Pockets stared the girl in her light brown eyes and actually made an honest attempt to recall any detail about her, then solemnly said, "Nope." He could see she still didn't want to believe him and trying to convince her that he wasn't lying was getting a little annoying. He figured she was just concerned but he simply didn't have the patience to keep this up for much longer.

Pockets breathed a silent sigh of relief when Candy stepped in and said, "I've already tried to get him to remember something and it's never worked."

"Then I guess I should reintroduce myself," Karma offered as she placed a hand over her chest to indicate at herself. "I'm Miya, or Karma, you can call me whichever. Unlike Candy, I don't mind using my real name." She glanced over briefly to catch Candy's insulted glare.

"What gave you that idea?" Candy inquired defensively.

Karma continued to tease her, "Have you told him your real name?" Candy refused to humor Karma with a response but her silence told Karma all she needed to know.

Meanwhile, the fact that Candy's real name was too embarrassing for her to mention provoked Pockets' interest. "What is your real name?" He turned his head to Candy and asked.

"…Hoshi," She admitted with a certain discomfort, feeling forced answer.

"That's actually not that bad…" Pockets said.

"It sounds like a guy's name!" She expressed.

"What? You make it sound worse than it is," He assured her, repressing the urge to laugh at her response. She was overreacting. "It's really not that bad, I was expecting worse."

"…I guess it isn't that bad…"

Karma switched subjects. "So, what have you two been up to all this time?"

"Same as always," Candy answered. "Eating, sleeping, skating… I found a job."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I work at that auto shop not too far from here." She seemed proud to tell Karma this. "I'm thinking about actually renting an apartment myself."

"Why?" Karma asked with a bewildered look. "You got _everything_ here. And it's all free!"

"Yeah, but I can't stay here forever. They can fix that elevator anytime they want and as soon as they do, we'll be caught."

"If I were you, I'd just stay until then."

Candy laughed a little. "That's what I'm trying to _avoid_."

The girls were so wrapped up in their own conversation now that Pockets figured they wouldn't even notice if he suddenly decided to just leave, so that's what he did. He had all but removed himself from the scene when Candy caught him halfway down the hall and called out, "Hey, where you going?"

"Gonna take a shower," He answered as he removed his shirt to further justify his statement. "I'm all sweaty." She made no objections and he slipped into his room.

Pockets lazily threw the shirt on the floor and sat on his bed, sheets still half thrown off from that morning. His room never got properly cleaned but it had always felt like home: just comfortable. And the perfectly fitting clothes he found in the dresser when Candy first brought him here told him he had likely been living here for longer than he could remember.

After sitting for a while longer, he finally headed to the bathroom to start running the water in the shower. On the way in, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His own face still seemed foreign but oddly familiar at the same time. Sometimes, he would lean over the sink and stare at his reflection for several minutes, frustrated. He knew the memories where still there and they were just out of reach…

Once the water was warm enough, he stepped in, letting it rinse him. The hot water was calming, though his mind never allowed him to really relax. It was always racing, trying to make some sense of things. He found that he spent most of his time dodging his own musings, distracting himself by indulging in daily activities. Whenever he wasn't busy, he was out skating, always trying to find something to do because in his idle time, he went insane…

He stood there, soaking for a few more minutes before any soap got involved. After a quick wash, he let his body rinse once more then stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel off the rack and wrapping himself. After turning off the water, he opened the door and stepped out into his room, still dripping as that first wave of chilling air breezed past him. He considered retreating back into the bathroom to dry off but it was too late now. All the steam had already been let out.

He went about drying himself for the next few minutes, paying special attention to his uncooperative hair which seemed impossible to dry no matter how many times he ran over it with the towel. Shuffling through the drawers, he picked out some clean clothes to wear but he found he had no clean underwear. Embarrassing… He would have to ask Candy if there were any of his clean undies in the laundry room in front of her company. He figured that if he was going to do it, he may as well be dignified about it.

Half-naked, wrapped around the waist with a towel, Pockets stepped out into the hall and called, "Candy, you got any clothes in the wash?" he could see her surprise when she turned around to face him, though she tried not to let it show.

"Yeah, just look in the dryer if you need clothes," She replied coolly

Pockets gave her a silent 'ok' and proceeded over into their laundry room across the hall. He retrieved a hand full of clothes and brought them back into his room, shutting the door while he changed. He emerged only a few moments later to rejoin the girls in the living room. They seemed to be talking about the past now...

"…So what's goin' on?" Pockets chimed in with no regard for the subject of the conversation.

He earned no response, only a silent stare from the both of them which ended when Candy blurted out, "Aww, that's cute." Her eyes dropped lower on his face. "You're finally started to grow chin hair," she teased him as she reached out to feel the couple strands clinging to his jawline. "And when are you gonna do something about all this?" She asked referring to his still damp black hair that seemed to want to stand straight up.

"What's wrong with it?" Pockets wiped her hand away so he could feel for himself. His hair grew more unruly every day. Eventually, he'd have to cut it.

"So how have _you_ been, Pockets," Karma asked making sure to use his alias this time, though she still preferred his real name.

"Good… I guess."

"… That's a stingy answer," She pointed out humorously. "What have you been up to?"

"Recently…? Uhmmm…. Skating a lot."

"So you still skate, huh? Even after all your memories are gone?"

"Yeah..."

"Well we should skate together some time," Karma insisted.

"Oh, you skate too?" He asked.

"Of course. Did Candy forget to mention that?" she replied with a nod to the other girl. Karma went on to add, "I know all the best spots in the city."

"Cool… so… what do you do? Other than skating." This kind of small talk was obviously not Pockets' strong suit but he was making a hell of an effort. Maybe the reason he was so bad at making conversation was just because he didn't remember much of anything, and thus had nothing to actually talk about.

"Other than skating… I got a job too. I'm a waitress at one of the restaurants on 99th street, you might see me if you're ever down there."

"We're always down there." Candy mentioned. "Every other night or so."

"Oh, well, we will have to hook up some time later tonight," Karma invited the two of them. "Just not where I work. Can't let the boss see me with you two." She laughed a little. "But I should be leaving now. You still got my number right, Candy?"

"Of course," Candy told Karma as she saw herself to the door.

"Okay, call me around ten. Seeya Souya," Spoke the girl clinging onto the half-closed sliding door. Pockets waved feebly at her through the glass until she disappeared down the fire escape. And just like that she was gone.


	4. The Same Coin

_Chapter 3 – The Same Coin_

Yoyo dropped the spray can and took a step back to evaluate his work. For four hours he had been diligently working on a wall in the Garage and still he wasn't even half way done. This was no ordinary piece, damn near a mural.

He reached into his stash of assorted colors and picked one out, shaking the can, hearing the marble inside clack against the tin walls. He loved everything about graffiti, even the smell. He swore that every color had its own unique smell that, when mixed together with other colors, made a beautiful bouquet of aromas.

"How many times have I told you to wear a mask?" Rhyth scolded him from behind.

"Good morning," Yoyo replied dismissively, not even turning to acknowledge her.

"Seriously, Yoyo," she continued. "If you keep huffing these fumes you'll pass out. They go straight to your brain, you know that right?"

Now that she mentioned it, he was feeling lightheaded, yet he continued to paint regardless. "I'm fine, yo," said the irresponsible teen.

Rhyth gave up. "Fine, but if you faint, I'm _not_ gonna catch you."

"I know you will."

Rhyth rolled her eyes in annoyance, but seeing him painting again was reassuring. "What is it, anyway?" she asked as she struggled to make sense of the unfinished scene.

"Us," Yoyo replied. "…_All_ of us."

"Nice," stated a third voice which could only belong to Gum. Yoyo grinned. She rarely complimented his work, as talented as he was.

.~~~.

"I don't miss work often, so if I get fired it's your fault," Karma alleged, waving a hand across the table at Candy.

"Hey, you invited me," Candy reminded her as she browsed the menu.

Sitting perpendicular to both of them at the round table, Pockets was emptying his iced tea out of the glass.

"Calm down, Souya," Karma warned Pockets who was already on his second refill. "You're gonna be so full of juice you won't be able to eat."

He finally took his lips off of the cup to say, "I was thirsty…"

Karma recommended the restaurant to them, describing it as the best in Tokyo. It was a higher end restaurant on the outskirts of the Benten district, far removed from the chaotic nightlife centered around 99th street. It was a small place dimly lit with candles set in the middle of each of the white draped tables. The atmosphere was very serene considering the amount of people they managed to pack inside the indoor eating section. All that could be heard throughout the restaurant was the sound of utensils tapping ceramic plates and the constant low rumble of sophisticated conversation. Yet, there was hardly ever a quiet moment between the three of them.

"Remember that time we went to Sky Dinosaurian Square," Karma brought up.

Candy almost choked on her drink trying to suppress a laugh. "Mhmm," She hummed as she swallowed, lips still uncontrollably curling into a smile. "I thought I was gonna die!"

"That was so funny," Karma chuckled as she covered her mouth to prevent showing what she was eating.

Pockets sat back while they spent their time reminiscing. He couldn't say he didn't feel left out but it didn't bother him much. He knew the whole purpose of this little event was so they could make time to sit down and catch up. He instead took a look around the restaurant, evaluating their more sophisticated company. It was funny how no one noticed them, or at least refused to acknowledge them, though they clearly didn't belong. The servers didn't treat them any differently than the other more cultivated customers either. Any prejudice was very well hidden by a warm smile and courteous gestures.

"Your food will be out in a couple minutes," Their busy waiter informed them on his way past their table. True to his word, he returned a little while later with a tray holding several plates of food. He expertly dished out the plates to their respective owners, told them to enjoy the food, and continued on to take care of his other customers.

Candy and Karma put their conversation on hold for a moment to take first bites of their food. It was every bit as delicious as Karma described, yet Pockets wasn't eating. He just leaned over the table, staring blankly at his plate.

"Drank too much?" Karma asked, snatching the boy out of his gaze.

"…No, I just zoned out," he said, wiping his face as if to wake himself up. He took another look at the stir fried chicken on his plate and stabbed it through with a chopstick. He knew that he probably looked pretty ridiculous skewering his food like a barbarian instead of using the chopsticks how they were intended, but at the moment he couldn't remember how to use the damn things.

"This sushi is great," Candy announced after finishing her third roll.

"I know," Karma was quick to agree. "I usually get what you got when I come here but I didn't want to get the same thing as you since we can always share!'

"Share?"

Karma turned to Pockets. "You like your food?" she asked the boy who was in the middle of extracting another piece of chicken from his wooden stake with his teeth. She couldn't help but laugh at him. "Here, do this." She demonstrated holding the chopsticks with proper form. Pockets mimicked her as best as he could, watching closely as she gripped another roll with the utensils.

"Yeah, it's good…" He finally answered her question, still practicing the technique on a leek.

"I really don't wanna believe you lost your memory," Karma admitted.

Pockets looked up to meet her amber eyes. He couldn't respond to her, though.

"Don't get too hung up on it," Candy advised Karma. "He really hasn't changed."

"Well we _definitely_ gotta go skating then. That was always the most fun!"

Dinner was over very shortly. Before they knew it, the waiter was returning with the check.

Candy grabbed the bill. "I'll get it this time." No one complained. She pulled up a purse that Pockets rarely got to see her use, and withdrew a sum of cash to pay for the food. She even made sure to leave an ample tip for the waiter. Now they were ready to leave.

Outside the restaurant they exchange a couple quick goodbyes and headed back to their respective homes.

.~~~.

Candy yawned as she stepped through the sliding glass door into the apartment, followed closely behind by Pockets. Immediately she slipped off her shoes and started removing her black jacket. "I'm so tired…" She said yawning again.

Pockets on the other hand, flopped himself lazily on the white couch, not yet ready to retire for the night.

"You're not going to bed yet?" She asked.

"Nah…"He decided. He avoided sleep whenever possible. He often found himself lying awake in bed for dreadful hours with too much on his mind to sleep. He started to reach for the television remote when Candy took a seat next to him.

"You thinkin' about it again?" It was obvious what she was referring to.

Sometimes, she could read him like a book. It was unnerving. He drew his hand back for the moment, TV could wait. "…Can't stop thinkin' about it." He buried his head in his palms. This time wasn't their first on the subject. Every time it came up, Candy would give him a little more insight, a tiny hint at who he must've been before. She always seemed careful of what she would mention, though, as if she was intentionally withholding something. As if she was trying to protect him.

Pockets often expressed a certain caution himself when the topic of his past came up because he had one fear: regret. Thanks to his amnesia, he seemed to be the only rudie without the affliction of guilt, and he feared that would all change if his memory was ever to return in its entirety. But at the same time, he wanted to know who he was.

Candy sighed, "In most cases with amnesia, the memories start returning on their own after a while."

"That's not what I want," He mumbled through his fingers.

"Then what _do_ you want?"

The question was clearly rhetorical. She didn't want him to answer, she wanted him to think, and it worked. Pockets didn't know what he wanted.

"Anyway," Candy continued, "I thought you were past this. What makes you so worried about it again all of a sudden?"

"I'm already starting to remember things," he revealed. "Only little things, but…" He trailed off, unsure of how to explain. He couldn't tell her he was essentially afraid of himself. The question of whether or not he should pursue his past was the biggest conflict in his life and he felt like the decision was already being made for him. It was nothing short of extremely stressful.

"I know you're afraid, but I promise it's for the better."

Candy attempted to console him but she could see it had little effect. He didn't want sympathy, he wanted a solution. He wanted freedom, whatever it entailed. But, from what he could gather, no one was free. He was quickly discovering that freedom is an illusion to be sought after but never attained.

Candy put her arm around Pockets and advised him to, "Just sleep on it. And whatever happens…" She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek to give the boy something else to think about.

Pockets' head jolted up with surprise. Now he was thoroughly confused. He turned to look at her, hoping she might explain her actions but, by that time, she had already gotten up and started heading for bed. She really knew how to mess with his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<br>**I almost forgot to upload this one...

I have planned to keep a schedule of releasing a chapter every other sunday night, since I usually get most of my writing done on the weekend. Here's to hoping I can stick to that schedule.  
>And about this chapter: I don't know much about japanese customs, but unfortunately, that is where the game and the story takes place. I tried my best here to incorporate some japanese cuisine, but I'm not going pretend I know everything about japanese culture, and most elements of it will probably heavily westernized... maybe.<p> 


	5. The Same Coin, Verse Two

_Chapter 4 – The Same Coin, Verse Two_

The sun was setting on another day when Yoyo finally returned to the Garage. He brought with him a few boxes of take-out to share with the rest of the hidden park's residents.

"Come on, Pots. It's time to eat," he said as he rolled pass the makeshift doghouse. The dog woke up instantly, barking excitedly at the smell of food and clawing at the heels of Yoyo's skates. The two of them headed up the stairs to the small half-collapsed second story of the skate park where Gum and Rhyth were residing.

They fell into routine now. Yoyo set down the food in the middle of the floor and they all flocked around it, each taking a box for themselves. Yoyo made sure that Pots didn't go hungry either, giving the little gray dog some scraps of his food. They all ate in silence as the orange sky turned black.

Minutes turned to an hour and Yoyo passed out on the floor, sleeping like a baby for the first time in weeks. Rhyth watched the boy as he rolled over in his sleep and unconsciously curled himself into a fetal position on the hard tiled ground. It was an adorable scene. He may have played the role of a man, but Yoyo was still just a kid, the same incurably idealistic boy he'd been all of his life. Ironically, it was his mature qualities that inspired Rhyth to run away from home with him believing that as long as they stayed together, everything would be fine. She still remembered the promise he made to her two years ago: true freedom. She was too young to fully understand what he meant at the time, but she fell in love with his attitude.

.~~~.

Pockets woke up feeling like he barely got any sleep. He glanced out the window in his room, and sure enough, the sun was shining through with unsavory intensity. Shielding his unprepared eyes from the blinding light, he willed himself out of bed and pressed his feet to the ground to stand. Walking over to his dresser, he checked the time on the alarm that he never used. 10:24. He tore through the drawers and slid a pair of pants on over his boxers as he stuffed the rudie standard issue wrist radio in his pocket. For some reason, he always carried it with him but, after Candy made it clear to him that she _hated_ the GG's, he stopped wearing the device altogether. After putting on a gray tee shirt, he made his way out into the hall and knocked on Candy's door as he did every morning, just to make sure that she had gotten off to work on time. To his surprise, he could hear her just waking up.

"You're late," he yelled through the door. He could hear her curse on the other side and start shuffling around more vigorously.

Candy opened up the door in just her underwear, catching Pockets completely off guard. "What time is it?" She asked.

"Ten thirty," he answered a little awkwardly. "…You might wanna hurry."

"Forget it," She sighed, pressing lazily against the door as she gripped the doorknob for support. "I'm too tired. I knew I shouldn't have stayed up so late with Karma." Her head dropped with exhaustion letting all of her black elbow-length hair dangle gracefully.

Pockets tried not to stare at her, but her figure was so well formed, and she just kept standing there, posed against the door. Maybe she didn't know she wasn't fully dressed. He didn't want to tell her and risk making things awkward. Maybe she didn't _care_. "…So you're not going today," he asked, looking her in the eyes instead.

Candy nodded softly. "Maybe I'll call in sick later. I've got plenty of sick days... I hope. You wanna come in and talk?"

About what, he wondered. "Sure." He stepped inside regardless of his apprehensions and allowed himself to be lead over to her bed where he sat. For all the months that they had been living together, he had never actually been _inside_ Candy's room. It was always her personal space, not that she was very exclusive about it, Pockets just felt that he shouldn't invade the privacy of her quarters. Now that he was inside, he could clearly see that hers was the master bedroom, judging solely by the king sized bed and the surplus of space. It was as bare as the rest of the apartment, but the one thing it did have was a dresser equipped with a large vanity mirror that looked more like a window into yet another large room. Scattered on top of the dresser were various perfumes – which explained the faint scent of apples he picked up on when he first entered – and make up kits that, looking at her now, he judged she could do just as well without. He slapped his hands on his stiffened thighs, waiting for her say something.

Candy wandered over to the walk-in closet, opening the doors and pulling out several shirts before finally deciding on a white one with short sleeves and a black swan design.

"…Uhh, what did you wanna talk about?" Pockets finally asked the girl, watching curiously as she stretched the cloth to fit on over her bra.

"Oh, I thought you would still have something on your mind…" She forced her feet through a pair of uncomfortably tight looking black jeans one leg at a time, and after she finished properly dressing herself, she sat next to Pockets on the bed and gave him her full attention. "I was too tired to talk last night, but I'm all ears now."

Candy stared at him intently, only making him more nervous. Her dark eyes seemed to be able to decipher the inner workings of his mind. He averted his eyes in a theoretical attempt to resist her telepathic advances. "I'm not so much worried as I am confused…" he tried to describe.

"What are you thinking, Pockets?"

He couldn't directly answer, so he responded with a question of his own. "…Why did you run away?" He asked her seemingly randomly.

Candy's lips pulled into an almost unnoticeable frown. "I already told you why…"

"I know, but please…" He urged her with an earnest look. She appeared uncomfortable, and for the first time, almost vulnerable. Ever since he had known her, Candy had always been very bold and forward with her feelings. She never seemed to be outside her comfort zone, so seeing this more insecure side of her was almost endearing.

She went over the story again. "I left because… I was never accepted into college and I didn't have the heart to tell my mom that." Candy rarely spoke of her life prior to becoming a rudie, but when she did she always spoke softly. "College was never for me anyway, but there was nothing my mom wanted more than to see her daughter leaving to go to school and I didn't want to disappoint her, so I lied. I told her I would be heading off to college alone, but instead I ran away. It wasn't a decision I made overnight. I spent the whole summer afraid and worried about how I would handle the situation…" She suddenly stopped not seeing the need to further explain. "Why did you want to hear that story again?"

Pockets was starting to see a parallel between their circumstances. He wanted the same thing that she wanted: to live freely, and he admired the lengths she went to in order to accomplish that goal. "I think you were brave to do what you did," He commended her.

His comment took Candy completely by surprise. She thought that, if anything, her story might make him view her as more of a coward, not the contrary. In any case she didn't get a chance to respond as a strange sound interrupted her thoughts. She could see from the look on Pockets' face that he heard it too.

"What was that?" He asked, immediately standing up to investigate. Following the noise, he found himself walking out of Candy's room, down the hall and into the dining area where he paused, holding his breath to listen for the slightest disturbance. There was a faint noise coming from behind the door they never opened: the door that lead out into the hallway with the elevator. Pockets crept up to the door and pressed his ear against the wood. His pupils dilated when he heard two voices conversing on the other side. He couldn't be exactly sure what they were saying but he sincerely hoped they had no intention of investigating the presumably unoccupied apartment. Unfortunately, that was exactly what they had set out to do. The doorknob wriggled menacingly sending Pockets into a silent panic. All he could do was slowly back away from the door, listening anxiously as the sound of several keys being slid along a key ring played on the other side. The suspense was nerve-wracking.

Finally the door burst open, revealing a stocky man with slick black hair dressed in a business suit. He seemed surprised to see Pockets standing, in what was supposed to be vacant property. He must have been the lazy landlord. "What the hell is this!" The man yelled. His face twisted into terrible grimace as he looked upon the intruder.

Pockets had no idea how to explain. "Oh, fuck," He muttered under his breath as he prepared to run.

Candy came darting out of her borrowed room at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and stumbled upon the horrifying scene. She suppressed a shriek that wanted to force its way out of her throat at the sight of the man. She quickly collected herself and devised the best way to escape the situation without ending up getting arrested. "Sir, just give us ten minutes and we'll be gone!" she bargained, holding out both hands in a gesture to calm the man's temper. In the worst case scenario, they could always strap on their skates and be gone before the police even had a chance to dispatch a team to investigate, but she wanted time to gather her things first.

The man stared the both of them down for what seemed like a whole minute in and of itself, then he laboriously uncurled one of his tightly clenched fists and showed them five stubby fingers. "You got five minutes to get out, and then I'm calling the police," He threatened.

The rudies wasted no time getting back to the master bedroom. "I can't believe this is already happening…" Candy uttered to herself. She remembered joking about this very situation with Karma, and her plans to eventually move out before it ever happened. She knew she should have acted sooner. She dove into the closet full of her clothes and retrieved a backpack, and two gym bags. Candy handed Pockets one of the gym bags and instructed him, "Put as much of your clothes as you can fit in here. And your skates, too. Just in case he does call the police, I don't want them to know they're looking for two rudies." He followed her orders, taking the bag into his own room and stuffing it with as much clothing as he could force inside it, not at all discriminating on what he would bring. He slipped his feet into the pair of sneakers he would wear on the way out in order to keep the landlord from knowing exactly who they were. He took a last look around the room, knowing he would never sleep in that comfortable bed again, and he exited. He found his skates by the sliding glass door where he always left them, and he packed them inside his bag along with his clothes. Once the gym bag couldn't hold anymore, he proceeded to the front door where the man was still standing, staring at his watch, daring them to exceed his strict time limit. Pockets waited on pins and needles for Candy to finish so they could both just get the hell out.

Candy arrived at the front a short while later with her two bulging bags. The man didn't even look up from his watch as they exited the apartment and boarded the elevator. He said nothing as the metal doors closed and the elevator started to descend to street level. The rest of the ride down was full of uncertainty…


	6. Rhyme and Reason

_Chapter 5 – Rhyme and Reason_

On her way past the kitchen, Karma stopped, noticing the mountain of dirty dishes stacked up on one side of the sink. She had been putting off washing them for quite some time. It was such an inconvenience having to do it herself. She was considering investing in a dishwasher, but until she could afford one the dishes would have to be hand washed, and she figured it was better to get it done now than later. She strolled over to the sink at a snail's pace, yawning on the way there. At midday it was still early for her to be awake. Working the night shift was rough. The late nights led to late mornings which left her with little time to handle business that could only be done during the day. Even now she had a long list of errands that had to be taken care of before stores started closing down. She hardly ever had the luxury of having breakfast.

Karma picked up one ceramic plate that still carried the scent of the noodles she had for dinner a couple of nights ago. She slowly lowered the dish into the warm water flooding the sink, then drew it back out covered in suds and began to wipe it with a drenched cloth. The task was agonizingly monotonous. She felt like she had better things to be doing, and she did. There just weren't enough hours in a day.

As she finished about her sixth dish, the sound of her cell phone ringing in another room interrupted her momentarily. It was probably a client calling her about the little side business she started in order to supplement her income. She opted to ignore the call, but that shrill noise that she chose for a ringtone – precisely for its obnoxiousness – persisted. Eventually it stopped, which was cause for some relief, but it started back up again without much of a pause in between. Whoever was trying to reach her was insistent, so she decided it might be worth her time to answer the phone. She shook most of the suds on her hands off into the sink and half ran into the bedroom to answer the phone before it stopped ringing. It was sitting on the bed where she left it after checking for any messages when she woke up. The glowing screen displayed the name 'Hoshi'. Karma reached for her cell phone, but her hands were still dripping wet. She wiped them hastily on her bed coverings, whatever, and then pressed the button that would answer the call. She tucked her copper hair behind her ear and held the phone up to it. "Candy?"

"Hey, Miya" Came the voice from the other end.

"What's up?" Karma walked back to the kitchen with the phone, pressing it against her ear with her shoulder to free both hands for washing dishes. Multi-tasking was a talent of hers.

"I need a favor," Candy solemnly requested.

"What kind?"

"I need a place to stay for a while."

"What, why? What happened?" Karma stopped scrubbing for a moment so she could focus more on listening.

"They fixed the elevator. We got kicked out," Candy summarized.

"Oh no…" Karma muttered, exercising every ounce of sympathy she could manage. "Of course I'll let you stay here but I don't know where you where you could sleep. My apartment's kinda small. I guess one of you can take the couch, but…"

"Actually, I was hoping you could loan Pockets some money so he could maybe rent his own place..."

"Okay… sure…" Karma's eyes darted pensively around her dark apartment. She normally kept all of the blinds on the windows closed so that the sun wouldn't disturb her sleep. "What about you?"

"I'm gonna go back home…"

There was silence on both ends for a moment. Karma paused with a fork in one hand and a soapy rag in the other while she processed what Candy had just proposed. "… What do you mean?" she finally asked.

"I'll probably be staying at home for a while. Of course it depends on how things go with my mom, though."

"I don't get a say in this!" Karma dropped the fork and the rag and quit washing altogether. Currently she was fed up with it and too distracted now to finish. After drying her hands on a towel, she took the phone in her hand again to give her cramping shoulder a well deserved break.

"Of course you get a say," Candy told her.

Karma sighed loud enough to be heard over the phone. "… We'll still be able to hang out, right?"

"Yeah…" Candy sounded unsure.

"Okay… just give Pockets the address to my apartment complex. You remember it right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, good. I'll have a room set up for him by the time he gets here."

"Thanks, Miya. I swear I'll pay you back."

"Uh-huh."

Karma set her cell phone down and added yet another item to her already crowded schedule. What a terrible reunion, she thought to herself after hanging up.

.~~~.

Pockets' hands were digging wrist-deep into the pockets of his jeans, something he did often when he had nothing else to occupy his hands with. Though it would seem obvious, he actually didn't get his nickname from this behavior in particular. Indirectly, the nickname had come from Gum. He remembered the insult that birthed the alias; the fabricated rank of Can Carrier was to be his official position among the GG's, so they called him Pockets. Gum… why was he thinking about her now?

Candy walked beside Pockets, leading him with one of the duffel bags she packed full of most of her possessions slung heavily over her shoulder while Pockets carried the other one for her. She strode with intent but her body language seemed to whisper apprehension. The way she consciously watched the ground where she walked, how her arms swung robotically in time with her stride, it was easy enough to see that she wasn't one hundred percent confident, as much as she wanted to pretend that she was. It became more apparent as she knew she was drawing nearer to her destination. She would look up periodically to check what street they were on, and then look back down to count the cracks in the sidewalk before the next intersection.

At the very least, it was a nice day for a walk outside. The clouds were still clearing from the storm a couple days before, and so long as the sun was blocked by overcast it couldn't get too hot. Occasionally, they would be joined by a biker who was taking advantage of the nice weather. Watching the bikers go by made Pockets miss his skates. Functioning on just a few hours of sleep and no breakfast, the fatigue was really getting to him after a couple hours of walking. He wasn't sure he could keep up with Candy much longer, fortunately he didn't have to. She led him down one of the side streets off of the main road they were travelling on, and into a neighborhood. The street travelled straight down for quite a ways, lined on both sides by houses of all similar designs with small driveways as the only buffer zone between them. There was a gloomy atmosphere about the place that was accented by the mostly gray sky perforated with tiny dots of blue. It seemed like the kind of place you would find old, retired people living. He couldn't imagine any children living in such a place. There was no life here. Yet, this is where Candy grew up.

Candy stopped suddenly, letting Pockets continue forward a few paces before he realized he wasn't following her anymore. "This is it…" She nervously announced as Pockets turned around to find her and the building she stopped in front of. It was a medium-sized two-story house with plenty of windows which were all shielded by curtains on the inside. The wooden façade was painted green to distinguish it from the other houses. A slender strip of pavement reached from the sidewalk to the doorstep through the short front lawn. It was almost exactly what would be expected of an inner-city residence.

Is this what a 'normal' life looked like, Pockets wondered. He followed Candy across yard. Her feet were dragging now, making the march up to the front door longer than it needed to be. Pockets stopped a couple feet away from the door with his hands still resting casually in his pockets. "You want me to wait here?" he asked her. He still wasn't sure exactly why Candy invited him in the first place.

"No, I want you to come with me," Candy replied in an almost demanding voice.

Admittedly, Pockets didn't want her to go through with this. Every sensible bone in his body told him this whole operation was waiting to turn sour, and it would only end with Candy being depressed. What if she cried! He couldn't imagine something like that happening; he wouldn't know how to handle it. He noticed his shoulders rising with tension as he watched Candy's hand curl into a fist, bringing itself closer to the brown door until she finally knocked three times on the wood. Then they played the waiting game.

For a few tension filled seconds, nothing happened. Candy looked back at him, maybe for some kind of reassurance, but all he could offer was a feeble shrug and a tilt of his head. She turned back to the door about to knock again, but it swung open before she got a chance. Pockets fully expected Candy's mother to answer the door, but it still surprised him to actually see her standing there in the flesh. The woman bore a striking resemblance to her daughter; they shared the same thin face and shady brown eyes, the same silky black hair, that same look of subtle tenacity. The biggest difference between them was that her mother's hair was tied up in the back and the inevitable aging of her face. Pockets finally had a face to associate with the stories Candy told him about her mother.

The woman's face lit up at the sight of her daughter. "Hoshi!" she cried as she strode forward to embrace Candy in a type of chin-over-shoulder hug that was only possible with two people around the same height. "I missed you so much…"

"I missed you too." Candy was squeezing her back until the two finally released each other.

There was a long pause that continued even after they had both let go. They seemed to have slipped into some kind of trance as they stared each other in the eyes, giving Pockets the impression that they might be communicating on a level deeper than words. It further confirmed Pockets' suspicion that Candy was capable of some kind of seemingly psychic speech, a technique that she must have used on him all the time – or at least he imagined so.

"What brought you back home?" Candy's mother asked her.

Candy abruptly turned halfway toward Pockets and directed her mother's attention to him. "I want you to meet my friend, Souya." She was stalling.

The slender woman accosted Pockets with a friendly smile that reached nearly across her face and pressed her cheeks up into her eyes. She took Pockets by the hand and shook it in a firm yet amiable manner; the boy had no choice but to participate in the gesture. "So you're the boy Hoshi used to talk about?" she mentioned after dropping his hand.

Pockets forced an awkward smile from his face that actually only amounted to a smirk. He could see Candy blush in the background. He wondered what kind of things she said about him. "Nice to meet you, Miss…"

"Ayako Kitamura," the woman introduced herself. "I'm Hoshi's mother, if you couldn't already tell."

"Right," Pockets acknowledged her with a smile and a slight bow of his head to show good manners. Though he made his best efforts to hide it, the tension was still there at the tips of his fingers, but pushed to the back of his mind.

"Mom," Candy started suddenly. "I came here to tell you something..." She was biting her bottom lip quite forcefully as she worked out several ways in her head to break the news to her mother. Her eyes darted around randomly until they finally settled on Pockets. Again, she looked to him, presumably for courage, and again, he didn't have much to offer.

Ayako stood across from both of them with her arms folded in a way that suggested that she was still young. It wasn't an authoritative stance; it was more of an attentive posture that showed interest rather than condescension.

Candy wrapped herself around Pockets' arm intimately. "I've been living with him since I left," She explained.

Candy was obviously putting on a show for her mother; Pockets couldn't remember a single occasion where she had done anything like this before. He felt obliged to go along with the little act, though, and he let her hang onto him, anything to help her cause.

She finished by saying, "… I never actually went to college…" She couldn't look her mother in the eyes as she told her. Instead, she held her head down and prepared herself for the castigation she was bound to receive. She was like a boa constrictor on Pockets' arm, her grip only got tighter as time passed and she braced for the eruption. There was never such an outburst. There was never any discipline. The belittling lecture on the importance of education, likely laden with expletives, which she expected from her mother never actually came.

Ayako's shoulders dropped, though her arms remained folded. She only looked mildly disappointed. "Hoshi, you only had to tell me," She sighed.

Candy slowly relaxed herself and lifted her head in response to her mother's soft admonishment. She expected a lot worse, in fact she genuinely feared what might happen if her mother were to ever figure out that she skipped out on college altogether. Only now did it occur to her that her mother might have known the entire time. She still adhered to Pockets' arm, although a lot looser now. "I'm so sorry," She sincerely apologized, realizing that she must've have caused Ayako to worry deeply. "Can I come home again? And I'll explain everything."

"You can always come back home." Ayako's voice was calm and forgiving.


End file.
